To Kill Superman
by boonadducious
Summary: A story loosly based on To Kill a Mockingbird which shows that sometimes standing up for a friend is worth losing everything. Chlark friendship and Clois.
1. Chapter 1

The silky white covers draped over her like a veil. The soft pillow cradled her delicate head as it absorbed the water that came from her eyes. The stream of light that came through the open window enveloped her and caused her to glow a soft, sad blue. Even as the room grew warmer, her small body continued to shiver. Wrapped in a bathrobe, Chloe Sullivan had her arms wrapped around her sore body, praying that her pacing friend would not X-ray the sheet to see how broken she really was.

She only let her eyes be uncovered by her white cloak of shame. She occasionally peeked around the spacious bedroom to peer at Clark Kent clad in the tight blue suit that the world now knew so well. He was either skimming through books on counseling rape victims or glancing back at his friend with a pitied look in his eyes. Chloe hated those looks. All she wanted to do was shout at the former farm boy to stop looking at her like she was a victim. However, she restrained herself, especially after all this man had done for her today.

Every now and then, her brunette cousin, Lois Lane, would come into the room asking Clark how she was. Chloe wanted to scream that she was fine and that she was not a helpless puppy, but she didn't want to lie. Besides, the affectionate touches that Clark and Lois sometimes shared were enough to sadden her into silence. It was the only way that she wouldn't cry. She couldn't cry. She had to stay strong. She was strong. She WAS strong. She was…not strong at all. How could she be strong? How could she even _think _she was strong? She was weak. She was as weak as all of the stupid women out there who let themselves get raped. This didn't happen to strong women. Her tough reporter image was a façade. It had to be.

Clark's sensitive ears picked up tiny whimpers in Chloe's voice that usually preceded her crying. He immediately dropped the book on the floor and slowly walked over to his friend's bedside.

"Chloe?" the man whispered as he got on one knee. He put his large hand on the bed and put it a few inches from where she lay in order to let her know he was reaching out without violating her. The girl's emerald eyes darted toward the hand to see if it came any closer, but it didn't. The only thing that moved was the glimmer that the soft light gave to his golden wedding band. That ring was the only thing that convinced Chloe that it was not _his _hand.

"S-Superman," Chloe said in a very tiny voice as her shivering continued.

"Chloe, call me Clark. We haven't been apart for that long," he said as a smile slowly grew across his face. "Are you ready to come out from under that sheet and talk?"

Chloe's eyes just looked down as she fought to keep back her tears. She knew from experience that if she let her emotions out in front of this man, he would never leave her alone.

Clark's smile went away as he let out a small sigh and retracted his hand.

"May I at least turn on the light?" he said as his hand began to rise toward the peach colored lamp on the bedside table.

As if by reflex, Chloe's eyes went wide and her arm shot out to grab her friend's wrist. Clark froze and looked back at her before glancing down to the bruised skin that was peeking out of the robe. Chloe noticed the direction in which his eyes were going and retracted just as quickly.

"Okay, no light," Clark laughed as he took a glass of lukewarm water from the table and blew ice breath on it to make it cold again. "Are you sure you don't want this? Your throat sounded dry."

"I'm not thirsty," the girl mumbled as she drew her body into the fetal position.

Clark was very happy that he was good at containing his emotions, because he would be visibly frustrated right now if that were not the case. A soft cough broke him from his thoughts and caused him to look toward the door and see his wife standing there with her hand over her cheek. She looked very drained as she jerked back her head to indicate that she wanted a word with her husband. Clark nodded in recognition of their unspoken language before putting the icy water back on the table and looking back at Chloe.

"I'll be right back, okay honey?" he whispered to the shivering blonde.

Chloe simply nodded as he smiled and got up from the bed before following Lois out the door.

As she watched the door softly close, she suddenly realized that the loneliness she had longed for had now come, and she wanted it to end. She needed people with her to keep her distracted, otherwise she would think of _him. _Or worse, she would fall asleep and dream about _him. _She wanted _him _out of her mind. She wanted what _he _did out of her mind. She just wanted her mind to be gone. She wanted to die. She couldn't live like this. She should not have come here. She should have just thrown herself off the Metropolis Bridge so that she could end this nightmare. She couldn't face tomorrow. She couldn't face the next five years. She couldn't face anything or anybody. Her mask was gone. Her former best friend now knew she was weak. Her cousin now knew she was weak. Soon everyone would know she was weak. She was a nobody. She was a tired nobody. No! She couldn't fall asleep. She couldn't fall asleep. She couldn't…fall…asleep.

Chloe's exhaustion finally got the best of her as her heavy eyelids slid over her pupils, thereby slipping her into the dark world of her dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

Clark softly closed the door of his den behind him as he looked back across the room to his wife pacing back and forth with a strand of black hair twirled between her fingers. Without warning, she angrily kicked over a vase that was standing adjacent to her. It shattered into pieces over the floor as the woman wrapped her arms around herself and gripped her elbows while grinding her teeth

"Lois," Clark said in a surprised tone. He then walked over and slid his large arms around his her torso and cradled her body close to him. He placed his soft cheek against her silky hair and allowed her chin to rest on his shoulder as the fire of anger within her subsided enough to talk.

"I'm gonna kill that son-of-a-bitch," Lois mumbled in her husband's ear.

"We don't know it was Lex," Clark cooed as he rubbed her back in order to calm her down. "Plus, we won't get anywhere by making rash judgments…"

"Clark!" the woman shouted as she quickly pulled out of her husband's embrace and looked him in the eye. "Let's recap. You found her naked in an alley only a quarter of a mile from her home! She begged you not to take her to the hospital. Now why do people ask not to go to a hospital after something like that? Maybe because they don't want to be found by someone high up! When you brought her here, she was uttering the words 'office,' 'Kryptonite,' and 'fire' before she started the silent treatment. After I finished screaming at you for not taking her to a hospital, I started deciphering those words while you tended to her in our room. Think about it. Lex has a ifire/iplace in his ioffice/i, and wears a iKryptonite/i ring! Plus, you said yourself that Lex might be abusing her after seeing her at that last press conference."

"I didn't know, though." Clark said through clenched teeth.

"The woman was emaciated and had a grimace like she was in pain! I completely agreed with you when you whispered it to me! She was obviously depressed and I figured it was from emotional abuse from working for that creep. How that jerk could abuse someone as amazing Chloe just convinces me that his soul is straight from hell! And now he goes and rapes her! Not only did he make it physical, but he took away her freedom! I hope he burns alive!"

"Lois!"

"You know I'm right! You feel it, too! You just don't want to show it 'cause you're afraid you'll upset her! She's not here now, Clark! You don't have to be stone-faced all the time!"

Clark hated times like this. Just like he had X-ray vision to see through people's bodies, she could see right through his soul. She also had the ability to break through the barriers in which he kept his emotions locked.

"I can't…Chloe's smarter than that."

Lois shook her head as she said, "I think it's safe to say Chloe lost her head when she took the Press Secretary job for Lex in the first place. She would be the closest staff member to the man…which also further incriminates him. Face it, hon! It's an open and shut case."

"To you it is! All the evidence you showed me is circumstantial! It would never hold up in court."

"Court? Clark…" Lois searched her mind for more arguments to throw in her battle of words, but she suddenly realized that it would do no good.

"You're in denial," she uttered. Clark's head shot up at the suggestion and was about to rebut when his wife beat him to the punch. "The chances of getting justice done are slim to none if Lex really did this. There is also a chance that Chloe could be the city pariah if she comes out with this information. That's why you don't want it to be Lex."

Clark really hated when she did that. He hung his head and grimaced before giving a reluctant nod. He then rubbed his eyes before saying, "After all of the times I've foiled his schemes. After all of the times I've nearly been killed by him. After all of the times I've seen the horrid person he's become, I can never punish him in the way I want to. I don't want to kill him, because that would make me no better than he is. I just want to put him in prison and make sure he never hurts anybody else again. But I never feel like I can make it public, because of the obvious reasons."

Feeling regretful about her previous harsh tone, Lois put her hand on his cheek and used her thumb to wipe away the wetness her husband was trying to hide. "I know, honey. You've told me. We've tried printing so many stories on his crimes, but either we can't get enough evidence or Perry doesn't let us print them because of the fear."

"It's almost like we're in a dictatorship."

"Yeah, only everyone actually loves this dictator." Lois said before resting her head on his chest and letting him stroke her hair.

"I know," Clark replied. "Part of me never wants to expose him because I think that the positive attention will do him some good."

"Yeah, but it's only inflated his boisterous ego even more."

"I just wanted so badly for him to have changed. I didn't want to believe it when he said he had an epiphany, but I forced myself to. I wanted him to change. It was the good Lex that I became friends with, and it was the good Lex that I hoped was returning. In reality, he got worse, and his crimes became more deadly. Before I knew it, it got to a point where it was impossible to arrest him because he has the public eating out of his hand and the police and the district attorney's office deep in his pocket."

"…except Lana," Lois interjected. "Even though having one DA on our side against a billionaire doesn't do much good."

"Which means that Chloe will never get justice she deserves if it is him."

"So we can only pray that it isn't Lex…"

"…even though it most likely is."

The couple simply stood there in each others arms, minds going in many different directions. They didn't want to go back in that room. They couldn't bring themselves to look at Chloe and know that there was nothing they could do for her. After all of the times they helped strangers in the same, if not worse, circumstances than this, they were shattered that they could not help a girl that they knew and loved so much.

"Do you ever wonder if Chloe wouldn't have worked for him if we had waited a little longer to get together?"

Clark closed his eyes and sighed at the suggestion as his heart sank in remembrance of the not-so-distant past. "Every day," he whispered as he held his wife tighter.

"I hate this, Clark," Lois uttered as her voice began to break due to oncoming sobs. She buried her face in his thick neck and let her eyes empty onto the edge of his bright cape. Clark laid a small kiss on her head while he tried to hold back his own tears. However, several broke through the pain-filled barrier Clark erected to protect the women currently in his life.

"I know, Love," he whispered as his own voice cracked. As the second ticked by, the crevices in which his tears had to travel through grew as his brow scrunched. His growing anger was showing itself in a way it rarely did.

"C'mon," Lois said as she wiped her eyes and walked toward the door. "We have to go in there and get her to talk. I think we've been careful long enough."

Clark nodded as he dried his own cheeks and took her in hand in order to follow her. However, once they reached the living room, he stopped short, forcing his wife to look back at him in question.

"I'll find a way to get her justice," Clark bellowed in a stronger voice as he looked into her eyes. "I don't care how long it takes or how hard it is, the bastard who raped her is going to pay."


	3. Chapter 3

Sudden light flowed into the dark apartment as the front door creaked open revealing a woman wearing a grey business suit and blonde hair cascading around her shoulders. Her shaking hand slid across a pad on the wall thereby making light fill the room from bulbs on the ceiling. The yellow light revealed the streaks of mascara down her cheeks and the shaky state of her bottom lip. Her long hair looked unkept as she ran her fingers through it just as she had done so many times in that seemingly endless night.

She slid her bare feet across the blue carpet, further ripping her hosiery as she trudged toward her soft couch. Plopping down, she threw the high-heeled shoes in her hand across the room let her head fall back onto the cushion. She didn't even try to acknowledge the ringing phone as it went to the answering machine.

"Chloe? It's Clark. Look, I know what me and Lois told you today was a shock, but I want you to know that we thought about this a lot. I…we want to talk to you more about it…us. I know you said that you were fine with it, but you looked upset when you left Lois's apartment. Just call me back when you get a chance. Love ya. Buh-bye."

"What?" the woman whispered to herself. That message. It sounded familiar. She felt like she was having a strange case of déjà vu. She sat up in the couch and glanced around the living room. It was different. It was…her old apartment. The one she lived in before Lex bought her the penthouse. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it before. It was decorated exactly the same as…uh-oh. This was the day. This was the day it all started.

Chloe darted from the couch and ran over to her door. She pulled on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. It wouldn't even turn. It was like it was frozen. Frozen in time.

"I don't believe you turned the knob at that moment."

Her head whipped around at the sound of the strange voice, making her long hair fly into her face. When she cleared the blonde locks away, she saw a woman lying on the couch. She was pretty sure the voice didn't come from this woman because…wait a minute. That woman was her! She remembered this. She was slumped over like a pothead, depressed. Her breath began to speed up at the sight of herself. It was like she was stuck in a rewind. She wanted out. She grabbed her head and let out a shout. She wanted anyone who could hear her to pluck her out of this reality.

"Chloe, calm down."

Once again, it was that voice. It sounded like a man. An older man. It also sounded like it was coming from her…answering machine?

The woman trotted over to the small white box which had it's red light beeping like a pulse. She tried to press one of the buttons, but like the knob, it wouldn't budge.

"You should know by now that it won't work."

Chloe jumped back at the voice once again coming from the speaker. However, she was more shocked at the fact that she recognized the voice.

"M-Mr. Kent?"

"Ah, yes. I was hoping you would recognize me. I was worried that you wouldn't since I've been dead for so many years. I guess the subconscious remembers things that the brain doesn't."

"Wha…what?"

"This is a dream, Chloe. It's the first in a series of dreams in which you will relive the events of the last few years."

"What! No I…I can't! I…why are you doing this to me Jonathan!"

"I'm not doing anything, Chloe. I have no power. I'm just your guide. I know that it's going to be painful, but you must remember, for the sake of yourself, and everyone else who has been a victim of Lex Luthor."

Chloe shuddered at the sound of _his_ name. She hated herself now that a simple name could instill such fear in her. She gripped the sides of the table very hard to keep from throwing this answering machine against the wall.

"Why is it so important that I remember?" Chloe finally uttered through gritted teeth.

"You will see. You just have to be patient." Jonathan said in a soothing manner.

"Wait a minute. Why are you my guide anyway?" Chloe had a small hope that a little insult might make this ghost leave her alone. "Why can't it be my dead grandmother or something?"

Jonathan's voice didn't flinch as he replied, "I am as concerned about this situation as you are. Soon, it will involve my son, and he will need your memories, too."

"What? How…What is Clark going to…?"

The ringing of the phone startled Chloe out of her thoughts. She jumped and grabbed to table to catch her balance as she heard the beeping of the machine indicate another messege.

"Chloe! Hi, it's Lex. Um, I was hoping that you would reconsider my offer to become my Press Secretary. I mean, I was hoping Clark would reconsider our differences and take the job, but I was sadly mistaken. I know that you have a better opinion of me, which makes me wonder why you haven't met with me yet. Just call me back when you get a chance. Goodbye."

"Oh no," she uttered. All she wanted to do now was scream at the top of her lungs toward her doppelganger to not get up from the couch. However, when she tried to move her lips, they didn't respond. She was mute. Chloe felt her consciousness drifting out of participation with this reality and into spectatorship. She fought it with all her might, but soon she saw her past self walking toward the phone, about to do the act that began this living hell. Her fingers curled around the receiver. Her arm moved upward to dial the number. The anger she felt was apparent from just watching her. It was too late. It had begun.

"NO! DON'T DO IT! HE'LL DESTROY YOU! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Chloe's body shot forward violently, flinging the multi-colored comforter off of her body. The only thing that covered her now was the sheet that she had inadvertently wrapped around herself so it was like a Middle-Eastern garment.

She touched her thin fingers to her forehead and wiped off a healthy amount of sweat and let even more drip off of her chin and into the blanket. Her jaw shook and her emaciated arms wrapped around herself once again as she felt very exposed and frightened. Unlike normal dreams, this one was fresh in her mind. This how she knew this was really happening. She was going to have to relive the last few years every time she went to sleep. Her worst nightmare was coming true.

_Broken heart one more time  
Pick yourself up, why even cry  
Broken pieces in your hands  
Wonder how you'll make it whole _

_You know, you pray  
This can't be the way  
You cry, you say  
Something's gotta change  
And mend this porcelain heart of mine_.

The throwing open of the door and sudden light from the hallway got Chloe's attention. As her emerald eyes moved up from her pathetic torso, she saw Lois and Clark standing in the lighted doorway, staring upon her shivering body. Humiliation grew within her as she buried her face in her arms and brought her knees to her chin.

"Go away," she shouted through her hiding place. Despite her plea, she felt a hand gently stroke her back after a few minutes.

"I said go away!" her muffled voice shouted.

Clark's large hand continued to travel up and down her warm and shaking back, vibrating as his fingertips worked over the ridges of her spine.

It was obvious by now that these people were not going to leave her alone. She hated them for that. She hated them for so many other reasons. However, the cold of her hate was somehow thawed by the warmth of the man's touch. It was like something was emanating off of his that was melting the ice wall she had erected so long ago.

Suddenly, it hit her, like an epiphany. It was _him_ how made her hate them for so long. She would have been fine if it wasn't for _him_. Why didn't she see it before? For years, they always tried to reach out to her, and she pushed them away because of _him_.

Chloe's wet face emerged from the inside of her arms and she finally looked at the blurry picture of her friend. In the light from the hallway, she could see how his eyes had been stained by tears and his hair was unkept from the past few hours of stress.

"Clark," Chloe managed in a barely audible voice. The man smiled and let out a sigh as stood up on his feet and looked down on his frightened friend.

Without warning, the large man scooped the fragile woman out of bed and into his arms. Chloe was startled by the move, but the security of his embrace suppressed the fear that her wounded body wanted her to have. Also, he rocked his body back and forth so that she would be soothed by the steady movement. That reminded her of the times when her daddy would sooth her after a nightmare when she was little. If only this were a just bad dream.

Lois immediately came from behind and used her sleek fingers to slip through Chloe's short hair and rub her scalp. This further soothed Chloe's jumpy nerves as she continued to be rocked.

"It's gonna be alright, babe," Lois whispered to her cousin after a prolonged silence. "We're here for ya."

Chloe's green eyes moved to look at her cousin, now concealing her wedding hand in her pocket. Chloe also noticed that a locket that Clark gave her was now missing from her neck. That was unusual since it had been there all the time. Lois always used to do little things like that to make her cousin feel better. Even after all these years of one-sided animosity, Lois still cared for her like a big sister. Chloe's wall melted further at this realization.

"Lois," Chloe whispered as she looked at her former confidante.

"Yeah?" Lois replied, smiling at the fact that calm words were coming out of her mouth.

"I love you."

Chloe saw that Lois almost gasped at the initial shock. She looked like couldn't even say anything to that. Her eyes just filled with tears as she tried to hold back the lump in her throat. Lois gently took her head in her hands and touched Chloe's cheek to her own. In the process, she sobbed uncontrollably as her husband watched helplessly.

_Someone said "A broken heart  
Would sting at first then make you stronger"   
You wonder why this pain remains  
Were hearts made whole just to break_

_You know, you pray  
This can't be the way  
You cry, you say  
Something's gotta change  
And mend this porcelain heart of mine._

"I'm so sorry, Chloe," Lois yelped through her cries. "I'm so sorry that this happened to you! I can't help but feeling that this is my fault."

At that word, Clark began to let out a few sobs as well. His tears hit Chloe's torso, the small woman felt something she hadn't felt in so long; warmth. Her shivering finally ceased as the warmth of true love enveloped her. The two people she cared for the most in the world were now here, holding her and loving her. Defying the procedure of rape counseling and being near to her fragile body. It touched the woman to the core. There _were_ people out there who cared for her. _He_ was wrong. _He_ was not her only reality. This was reality. This was what she needed. If she hadn't been such a jealous bitch, she would have had this reality all along. She would have had the love she needed to survive. She should never have answered that voicemail.

Chloe rested her head against the soft fabric of Clark's suit as her own tears meshed with two others to create a beautiful mixture. Clark's trembling lips planted a kiss on her forehead as Lois continued to cradle her cranium. Chloe brought her thin arms to her chest as she made fists and tried to keep in this amazing feeling she had inside her. In the coming weeks, months, and maybe even years, she would probably not feel this feeling very much.

_Creator only You take brokenness  
And create it into beauty once again._

_You know, you pray  
This can't be the way  
You cry, you say  
Something's gotta change  
And mend this porcelain heart of mine._

"I'm so sorry, for everything," Chloe whimpered, slightly muffled by Superman's suit.

"You don't have to be sorry," Clark bellowed. "We should have thought…"

"No, it was me…who should have thought. You guys…waited so long to…get together…just for me. I was…too jealous…to see that."

"Oh Chloe, don't think that," Clark whispered. "Please don't think that. Please."

The trio chose to say no more words. They didn't want to delve into the pain any more than they had to. They just stood, cried, and prayed. Prayed for peace to come to Chloe's soul, and prayed for justice to fall on Lex Luthor

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Btw, the song is called "Porcelain Heart" by BarlowGirl. Hope you guys liked the new chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

Autumn in Metropolis was known as a very dreary time by the residents. The clouds always seemed to roll in around the late afternoon right when thousands of commuters took to the streets. People often had umbrella tucked under their arms in case of a storm, and thick coats were always worn to prevent the wind from slicing through the skin. It was these conditions that always urged the busy workers of the city to stay indoors. Working in the warm buildings was seen to be far better than braving the horrid weather.

Inside the most brooding building in the city, the _Daily Planet_, the bustle was not as rigorous as is usually was. The slow income of news was frustrating the hundreds of writers who graced the newspaper with their talent. They were either circling the newsroom or sitting at computers trying to squeeze news out of anything they could get their hands on.

Lois Lane's day was not only slow, but it was also progressively getting worse. She was sporting visible bags under her eyes and her hair was missing its usual shine. Her now cold cup of coffee was sitting untouched on the corner of her desk as her stomach did not want to consume it. The stories that she was working on were previously all she could think about during work. Now her thoughts were someplace very different. They were focused on her apartment. On her bedroom. On her bed. On her cousin. Crying. Hurting. Crumbling.

"Lois?"

"Huh?" she shouted automatically after being startled out of her daydreaming. She rubbed her tired eyes before lifting them to gaze on two beautiful blue irises hiding behind thick spectacles.

"How are you holding up?" Clark asked as he affectionately touched her shoulder.

"Terrible," the brunette said, resting her head on his stomach. "I feel like a cretin for leaving Chlo…uh…you-know-who alone in the apartment."

Clark put a finger to his lips to indicate he wanted the rest of the conversation to be in whispers. "She stayed up all night, so I'm pretty sure she's going to sleep all day. I've been running back to the apartment every half hour to check on her and she hasn't woken up once."

"I still feel like I should be with her."

Clark sighed to show his exhaustion before saying, "Me too."

"I just hate that I can't do any more research into where Lex was yesterday. If I do, Perry will be asking questions about why I want to know that kind of stuff. Oye, I wish we could somehow let the world know about this 'Big Brother' system that Lex installed in here. I want it gone so badly."

"I know that this new computer surveillance thing is a pain in the neck, but can't you at least make up a lie?"

Lois dug her forehead deeper into her husband's skin and moaned, "I'm too exhausted to be smart today. I'd probably say I want to write a new column for Lex stalkers or something."

"Lois," Clark said as he shook his head. He would have normally laughed at the wit that often entered the conversations with his wife, but this seemed like too serious of a situation to merit it. The man was about to rebuke his wife when a small head with bushy brown hair peeked over the wall of Lois' cubicle and used his waving hand to get their attention.

"Mr. and Mrs. Kent," the young man said in his high voice.

"Jimmy, you've known us for how many years?" Lois replied in an annoyed tone, practically forcing her head off of Clark. "You can still call us Lois and Clark, even if we are married."

"Oh, sorry guys. Um…anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Lex Luthor's doing a LexCorp press conference today…by himself. You know when that happens something big is going on."

All of a sudden, Lois' eyes went wide. Clark's followed suit as they looked at each other with nervous faces. Clark slipped his large hand over Lois' shoulder and felt her blood race through the veins of her neck nearly twice as fast as usual. The man knew from experience that repressed anger was welling up within her.

"Lois? Clark?" Jimmy asked when he noticed their demeanor.

"When is it, Jimmy?" Clark said, immediately making his feelings less conspicuous.

"Uh…in a few minutes. You better get back to your own desk so that you can listen to it, Clark."

The larger man nodded before Jimmy's head disappeared behind the wall.

"Clark," Lois growled through clenched teeth. "When he tells the world that she's missing…"

"Maybe it's not about…"

"Who are you, Mr. Rogers!" she shouted at a tone that wasn't noticeable to the rest of the busy newsroom. "You know what it's about as well as I do. This optimism during these kinds of situations is very annoying sometimes."

"It's worked so far hasn't it?" Clark sighed before he got up to go to his desk.

Lois sighed and put her face in her hands as she heard her husband trod away. She could have slapped herself for using that kind of tone. He was in as much pain as she was, but he didn't show it the same way. This was a fact that she kept forgetting. She hated herself for forgetting. She loved this man. She loved him more than life itself. She hated hurting him. He often didn't deserve it. He never hurt her back. Lois hated this whole situation. She hated what it was doing to her and Clark, but most of all, she hated what it did to Chloe. For the first time in years, she felt on the verge of screaming.

The increasing activity around her shook her out of her thoughts before she looked up at one of the TVs mounted on the ceiling that played CNN or Fox all day. A young reporter was talking on what looked like the outskirts of the LexCorp conference room in anticipation of the arrival of the billionaire. The woman took the wireless headphones from the corner of her desk and put them on so that she could hear the sound, and waited for the bald bastard himself to come out of the entryway by the podium. Even before she knew how dark Lex's soul was, she hated the look of that room. It looked far too much like the one in the White House, which probably foreshadowed Lex's future political ambitions. Lois never prayed much, but the idea of a Luthor in the presidency drove her to pray every night for a different outcome than her worst nightmare.

When Lex finally did come out, he lifted his hand to silence the clamoring press core and began his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Some of you might know why I am speaking to you today, but many of you might not. I just wanted to inform you all that my press secretary, Chloe Sullivan, has been…missing…for the past twenty-four hours."

Lex put his head down as if to hold back a sob before he continued with his speech. Lois almost felt like she was going to hurl.

"She failed to show up for work this morning, and my sources tell me that she did not show up at her apartment last night. This is a sad day for all of us here, but I am willing to help the police in any way I can to find her and get her home safely. For now though, all we can do now is pray for her safe return. And if there is any party responsible for this disappearance, I have a message for them." The bald man aimed his green eyes directly toward the camera and froze them in a cutting stare before saying, "I plead with you, let Ms. Sullivan go. I will do whatever you want. I will pay whatever you want. Whatever it takes, I want her home. Please let her go. She is of no use to you. We need her here."

Without a single word of closing, Lex stepped off of the podium and slipped through the doorway in the back. As his image disappeared from the screen, Lois could feel her blood boiling. All she wanted to do right now was reach through the TV and strangle him. She also wanted to run over him with her car to squeeze the false act right out of him.

"It's okay honey," the woman heard from behind her. She turned her head around and gave her famous "I'm sorry" face to the disguised superhero standing there before he reached out his hands and helped her tired form out of the chair. "I went in to get a week of vacation from Perry this morning. That way I can be Superman full time."

"It's going to take more than a week to fix this, Speedy," Lois said sadly.

Almost as soon as Lois had finished her sentence, a vibration was felt at each of their sides. They each peeked at their beepers, even though they knew what it was already. It was Perry White informing all of the most important reporters that there was a meeting in the conference room.

"There it is, like clockwork," Lois said as she sighed. "I guess we won't be getting back to Chloe anytime soon."

"Well…Chloe is your cousin. Maybe Perry will let you take some time of to get your emotions together. I mean, it's not like you'd be lying. You are in pretty bad shape."

Lois ignored her husband's candid comment and said, "I don't know if that will work. I don't think Perry even knew who Chloe was before she took the job with Lex. She left for the _Metropolis Times _while Pauline Kahn was still in charge here."

"No, Perry knows her. He did meet her when he visited Smallville when I was in high school. He actually recognized her during her first press conference, but I guess you didn't really want to mention anything back then, huh?"

"And I still don't," Lois said as she hung her head. "He might not let me or you cover this story if he knew that. We need to get this story Clark. That's the only way we can use the computers here to help her."

"I'm not too worried about that, hon. All I'm worried about is what how we're going to get any evidence on him."

"Same here," Lois sighed.

xXxXxXx

Lois and Clark entered the conference room to find Jimmy Olsen in his usual seat and Cat Grant, the gossip columnist, in hers.

"I still don't know why they let her in on this meeting," Lois whispered into her husband's ear.

"Well, ever since she said that Bruce Wayne had returned to Gotham in her gossip column about a day after everyone knew it as fact, Perry probably thought it was best to let her in on the meetings."

Lois nodded before taking his hand and leading him through the door. The couple walked alongside the long, grey table in the room before grabbing two seats around the center.

"Hey Lois, I bet you're disappointed," Cat uttered in her seductive voice as soon as they sat down.

"Why?" Lois replied in an exhausted tone.

"Superman hasn't shown up in town all day."

Lois' face scrunched up as her tired mind failed to come with a smart response. Clark promised himself that he would remain silent as he stroked his wife's leg so that her anger would be suppressed.

"Will you just stop it?" Jimmy shouted from across the room as more reporters trickled in. "You are milking that stupid rumor too much. Can't you just act like an adult for once!"

"Jimmy, please," Lois softly said. "I really don't care about her or this stupid idea that I'm in love with Superman rather than Clark."

"Besides Cat," Clark interrupted, breaking his silence. "There are bigger things going on in the city right now. Why do you still care about Lois' personal life?"

"Hey, I'm a gossip columnist. That's what I do Besides, I don't care about that stupid press secretary. The way I see it, it's just another way to get a good raise because of better sales."

Lois angrily banged her hand down on the table and shouted, "That 'stupid press secretary' is…" Lois stopped short as she felt Clark squeezing her leg very hard. She took a deep breath before she continued. "…is…missing. Who knows what happened to her. I think that we should start putting ourselves in her position and show her some respect." Some of the reporters around them let out a laugh as Lois let her beet red face turn back to a normal color.

"What's going on in here?" grunted a voice from the front of the room. "I hope that we can stay civil during this meeting, for once."

The heads in the room all lifted to acknowledge the editor-in-chief, Perry White, walking in from the front door. His wrinkled face seemed very relieved as it nodded to acknowledge everyone who had gathered in the room. He then placed several papers down on the long table and waved his hand to indicate that the meeting had started.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure that you all know why we're here, but first of all, I'd like to congratulate Jimmy Olsen on his first major interview for us."

The whole room was confused considering the circumstances, but applauded as the small man withdrew back a few inches and blushed. "It was nothing, really," he finally quipped with his high voice.

"Are you kidding? You interviewed Johnny Ewells, one of the most notorious criminals in prison today. It was the first time he talked to anybody since Superman caught him in that alleyway. I didn't get an interview like that until I was way older than you."

"Perry's right. Jimmy," Clark said. "You should be proud. What did he say to you?"

"Well," Jimmy said in a nervous stutter. "I might just want to keep it hush-hush until it gets printed."

"Well, at least answer this. The man had kryptonite in his pocket in case Superman showed up, but when they were face to face, he couldn't use it. Why was that?"

"Jeeze, Clark. Why are you so into this?" Cat asked, annoyed.

Clark gulped as he eased back into his seat and became more relaxed. He shrugged his shoulders and ushered for Jimmy to continue.

"He said he just couldn't do it," Jimmy said, surrendering.

"Why not?" Clark asked as he adjusted his glasses and furrowed his brow.

"He said something about an unwritten rule around the criminal community. Any cop was fair game when it came to murder and such, but Superman is off limits."

"That's weird," Perry grunted. "You'd think any criminal in the world would jump at the chance to kill Superman."

"Well, he said that Superman was the only truly innocent person in the world. Any criminal that would try to kill him or even hurt him would be truly evil and therefore the pariah of the criminal world. I think that it comes from the same reasoning that makes child molesters become the biggest targets in prisons. It was almost like an inert thing."

"I can understand that," Lois chimed, eliciting a smile from Jimmy, as well as Clark.

"I wonder why," Cat whispered to the spectacled woman next to her, who in turn let out a giggle. Clark, having heard the small exchange, shook his head and sighed at the childish gossip coming from the "adults" in the room.

"Can't we just get down to business," one reporter said. "This is the biggest story we've had in months and we're stuck talking about some dumb interview."

"Calm yourself, Collins. I just wanted to start out on a social note to get us out of the confrontational mood we apparently have today," Perry said as he stood up from his chair and began to circle around his underlings. "Now that we're done with that, from now until the foreseeable future, I think we should focus on Chloe Sullivan. Now, I want to keep this on top. It's a big story and Lex seemed very upset during the press conference, so I'm sure the public will be upset about it as well. I know that the paper is going to be full of stories on this. However, I only want a couple of reporters to get the inside scoop and do the really big stories. For that I would like Dumont and Collins…"

"What!" Lois and Clark shouted in unison.

"You two better not be getting riled again. I just got everyone calm."

"Perry," Clark protested. "We are the best people you have. Plus we know Lex's…"

"Okay, let me stop you right there, Kent. If I recall, it's you two who constantly submit stories that undermine Lex Luthor and call him the biggest villain in Metropolis. That kind of bias is not what we need right now. I don't like the guy either, but that's the way it is. Got it?"

"It's not bias, Perry," Lois shouted. "It's the truth!"

The conference room was silent as they hung their heads, unwilling to enter into the squabble that often erupted during these meetings.

"You two can still do smaller stories, but I don't want you doing anything else. My decision is final!" Perry hated these fights as much as the Kents did, which was why he always tried to keep them as short as possible in order not to make him give in. He very much wanted to, but any negative story about Lex Luthor might destroy the paper and he didn't want to take that chance.

The couple sat back down into their seats, knowing they were fighting a losing battle. Clark was mad at himself for ever assuming they would get the story. He should always assume that things would not go their way, especially since in this situation was not showing any signs of getting better.

xXxXxXx

Clark, clad in his Superman garb, sped into the apartment, expecting to see what he had seen each time he had been here over the course of the day. He imagined seeing Chloe curled up in the bed breathing in a steady tone, probably not dreaming about anything good. However, once he stepped through the door, he knew that something was wrong.

There were horrible sounds coming from the master bedroom. They sounded like Chloe was in the middle of a violent vomiting attack. Clark's heart raced as so many fears flashed through his mind in the seconds it took to get across the apartment.

As soon as the door flew open, the first thing Clark saw was red. The white sheets on the empty bed were covered in blood, and there was a path of blood on the carpet leading to a very pale Chloe Sullivan. She was face down on the floor holding her body only inches from the ground on shaky arms. There was blood streaking down her legs and down her chin, not to mention all over her bath robe.

"Chloe!" Clark shouted as he ran over to her and gently turned her over so she was facing up. He then took her in his arms and propped her up so that she could breathe easier.

"What happened!" he asked on the brink of tears.

"I…got sick…then I was…hurting all over…"

"Chloe, don't say anything else. I know that you didn't want to go before, but now I need to get you to a hospital!"

"No! No! STAR Labs…take me…to STAR Labs!"

Clark was taken aback by this strange request. Not only because that place wasn't even close to a hospital, but also because it wasn't known to the general public. "Chloe, why do you…?"

"JUST TAKE ME!" the woman shouted through her pain as she continued to grip her stomach and spit up blood her robe.

"Okay, I'll task you," Clark breathed in a frantic manner. He had a feeling that this was a bad idea, but something in his gut told him that it would be better to take her someplace less public. His nervous sweat soaked through his suit as he lifted her in his arms and flew out of a secret opening in a skylight over the living room.


	5. Chapter 5

The room was tall. The ceiling was almost thirty feet high. The wall that faced the outside was made entirely of paned glass. Water trickled down the windows as a light rain dampened the outside world. The small amount of light that managed to break through the clouds streamed into the large office and illuminated the bald head of Lex Luthor.

His back was turned to the dreary weather as he was sitting at his desk writing a personal letter to a client. He was in the middle of requesting a new shipment from the LexCorp plant in Kansas when he heard a beep from his message box.

The man pressed down the button and said, "What is it, Jean?"

"Miss Sullivan is here to see you," the younger woman said in monotone through the speaker.

A large smile quickly grew across Lex's face as he let out a single laugh.

"Let her in," he said slowly.

The door creaked open as a slightly pregnant Latina woman with a blank look on her face ushered the young blonde in. Her hair was short and just above her shoulders, and her body seemed nervous about making a bad impression in the midst of her new job.

"Y-you wanted to see me Lex," Chloe uttered after the door closed behind her.

"Yes, come closer," Lex said with a smooth voice. He used his two tallest fingers and bent them toward his body so that that woman would come closer.

"I don't know if I…"

"Oh come on, Chloe. You know I don't bite."

Once the blonde came close enough, Lex took a large step forward and put his smooth hand on her hip.

"Lex, stop it," Chloe said as she backed away from him, hiding her own desire. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Don't you want me, Chloe?" Lex asked in a voice full of breath. "Or are you still hung up on Clark."

"I told you," Chloe shivered, realizing what this meeting was really about. "I'm over Clark."

Lex continued to come near to the woman and put both of his hands on her waist. He touched his chest to hers and blew a tiny amount of air on her face.

"I love you, Chloe. I'll always love you. I always have. Can Clark tell you that?"

"No," Chloe sighed after a long pause. "No, he can't. Well, he can. He just didn't. He chose Lois instead."

"I'll never choose another, Chloe," the man whispered as the tip of his nose slid across her soft cheek. "You're the one who can make my soul take flight."

No more words were said in that room. A few simple kisses on the neck were enough to make Chloe lose control. She allowed Lex to remove her blouse and she in turn unbuttoned his shirt in a hurried fashion. In what seemed like seconds. All of their garments were strewn across the floor as well as the contents of Lex's desktop. His old wooden work area had become the love bed of the two entwined bodies indulging in the first of the many encounters they would go through during the long year.

Chloe's eyelids slowly lifted to reveal her soft green eyes reflecting a bright light. The blonde immediately had to squeeze her lids shut due to the shock the light caused.

"Ah, Ms. Sullivan, you're awake."

"H-huh?" she asked as she heard the strange voice. It sounded very familiar. Chloe's body immediately woke and became charged. She jerked around for a few seconds before her pain caused her to stop short and curl up into the fetal position.

"It's okay, Miss Sullivan. My name's Dr. Shapiro of STAR Labs. Superman brought you here. You're going to be okay."

The frightened woman didn't say another word. She simply shivered before gulping back saliva.

"Dr. Hamilton, I think I'm going to fetch the rest of the medicine," Dr. Shapiro said. "I'll be back later."

"Thank you, doctor," sighed an older-sounding man in the background. After the other doctor left, he moved the light to the side so that it no longer blinded Chloe and gently touched her wrist so that he could take her pulse.

"It's back to normal, Superman," Dr. Hamilton croaked. "Your friend's going to be okay."

"Thanks, Emil," sighed a very tired Clark. "Now can you finally tell me what was wrong with her?"

"Sure," the doctor said as he lowered his glasses and rubbed between his eyes. "Ms. Sullivan is a very unusual case. You did know she was pregnant, right?"

Clark nearly lost his footing as he heard that word. Pregnant? Chloe was pregnant? Why didn't she tell him? Maybe she didn't know. She could not have known. It would have been too soon for her to know. He looked over at her to see her reaction, but she was simply staring at an adjacent wall, as if this was no news to her.

"I'm guessing you didn't know. Anyway, we think that the fetus inside of her was somehow physically attacking the uterus, thereby creating a domino effect on the rest of the body. That was where the bleeding was coming from. We injected a substance that Dr. Shapiro made in order to weaken the fetus so that it does no more damage."

"W-what do you mean 'physically attacking'?"

"Um…punching, kicking, ripping at the wall of the uterus. That kind of thing."

Clark looked at the seemingly baffled doctor and tried to make sense of what he was saying.

"How can…how can that happen?" Clark stuttered. "If she's not showing yet, how big can the baby be?"

"Pretty small," Dr. Hamilton said as he shook his head. "It boggles my mind. I'm just glad that she came here. Dr. Shapiro apparently knows about this kind of condition and knew exactly what to do. Why did she want to come here again?"

"I don't know," Clark sighed with his fear and confusion apparent. "I guess she really didn't want to go to a hospital."

"It's good she didn't. The doctors there wouldn't have known what to do, or what was wrong. I'm actually surprised that we knew."

"But its how she knew about this place that is a mystery."

"Well, it doesn't surprise me. Luthor's people definitely know about us by now because of their connection with the underworld. Luckily they've left us alone."

"Lex Luthor's an evil man, but I don't think his child could attack the mother in the womb." Clark said quietly to himself.

"Lex Luthor?"

Clark's heart skipped a beat when he realized his slip-up. He knew he couldn't take it back, so he decided to add onto what the doctor already knew.

"We think that he was the one who raped her," Clark said, groaning at his stupidity.

"Oh," Dr. Hamilton said with a very similar fear in his voice. "I can now see why she hasn't come foreword yet."

"You told them?" Chloe moaned in an angry tone. "You told them what happened to me?"

"I didn't tell them anything before just now, Chloe," Clark explained frantically. "It was obvious what happened from the bruises around your body, especially your…area. Besides, the people who work here know me. They're on our side."

The woman moaned again as her head rested on the pillow. She wanted to cry. Someone else had now violated her and seen her without the strong façade. She very much regretted going with Clark that night. She should've just headed for the Metropolis Bridge.

"Well, Superman, even if Lex did rape her, which I wouldn't doubt at all, I don't think the encounter that caused her current injuries would have brought about the pregnancy."

"Why?" Clark asked as his brow furrowed.

"The baby is three months old. Chloe would've been showing next month."

Clark felt like he was going to faint. Was it possible? Could it have happened before? Or worse, could Chloe have been…consenting to sex with that man? He didn't even want to think about what had happened three months ago and before. It did make sense since it was rare for pregnancy to result from rape, but he didn't want to believe it.

Dr. Hamilton put a hand on Clark's shoulder as he saw his surprise. He then said, "We would like to examine Chloe further to find out what is causing the baby to act this way at such a young age. To be honest I have no idea how the child lived this long. Chloe's body is rejecting it, which is very unusual. Her immune system is trying to destroy the form and I'm guessing that was why it was fighting back, quite literally."

"Wait a minute," Clark interrupted. "Are you saying that…that's impossible. How can that happen unless…"

"…unless this very strong fetus can think and reason?" the doctor continued.

Clark had seen many things as Superman that he never would have imagined in his youth, but this revelation still brought shock.

"I'm as baffled as you are, Superman. It's the same size as any normal fetus at three months, but its brain waves and organ development are far above normal. Whatever Dr. Shapiro gave her is weakening the fetus so that it can't fight back even if it wants to, but that lets Chloe's immune system fight against it easier and kill it faster. We have to ask him if he can develop another medicine to save the child."

"Cut it out," Chloe grumbled slowly.

"What?" Clark quickly replied when he heard Chloe had spoken.

"Cut the baby out of my body so that you can study it. You know you want to."

"Wait, Ms. Sullivan," Hamilton said, taken aback. "The main reason I wanted to study the baby was to save both its and your life."

"You said that it was unlike anything you had ever seen. You might as well find out why."

"Chloe," Clark interjected. "This is your child. It doesn't matter where it came from. We have to find some way to…"

"Look, I don't want that demon spawn in my body anymore. Okay!" Her outburst caused her to rise out of bed slightly before plopping back down on the bed groaning in pain.

"So it is Lex's?" Clark whispered.

"No…I mean. I don't know. I just…I want it out of me. You can do that, right doctor?"

"Well…yes," Hamilton stammered. "We do have a few MDs on the premises."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"Chloe…" Clark was speechless. He had never heard Chloe talk like this before. The hate was dripping from her lips as she talked about the tiny being growing inside of her. He didn't know why this was happening, but the woman should at least have a little love for this child. Even the cruelest of women feel that at the very least. What happened to his friend to make her feel this way?

Dr. Hamilton sighed and gave an apologetic look toward Superman before he turned to Chloe. "Even though I don't recommend this procedure…it's your choice whether or not you want to do it."

"Jeeze," Chloe grunted. "You sound like I'm about to sell my soul. I'm doing the world a favor by doing this, believe me."

Dr. Hamilton gulped and shook his head before nodding and writing the request on his clipboard.

Clark felt anguished as Dr. Hamilton called a couple of doctors into the small room to prepare Chloe. She insisted on doing the surgery immediately and under sedation, which the doctors agreed to it since the trauma to her genitals would have caused a greater amount of pain than normal.

As they strapped an oxygen mask onto her pale face, Clark pulled up one of the worn stools to sit by the side

"You hate me don't you, Clark?" Chloe stammered in a barely audible voice. "I know how much you hate abortion."

Clark's eyes began to tear up as he took in that horrible statement. Of course he didn't hate her. He never did. How could she ever think that? Did last night mean nothing to her? Could she even feel love anymore?

As Chloe's eyes began to close, Clark began to stroke her hand with his thumb. He sighed as he watched her drift into her medically induced coma. So many things were going through his mind then. He wondered what this woman went through during her time with Lex. It had to be more than a rape. There was more. Clark knew it. How else would Chloe have lost the glimmer in her eyes that she used to have when she talked about having kids someday? Clark simply continued to rub her hand and begin to sing her a lullaby to ease her hurting soul.

_You shake your head  
What is so hard to believe?  
When you are in your bed  
I sing over you the sweetest things_

_Because oh, my love does not tire  
I'm awake when the moon is full  
And I know the times when you feel lost  
And you just aren't sure_

_Lo and behold  
My love hasn't grown cold  
For you_

_You cold steal away in the middle of the night  
And hide in the light of day  
While you cloak yourself in the darkest lies_

_But oh my love, it swims in the deepest oceans of fear  
And as soon as you lower your head  
I am here_

_Lo and behold  
My love hasn't grown cold  
For you_

_If only you could see  
How heaven stills when you speak  
I know all your days  
And I have wrapped you in mystery_

_And oh, my love for you  
Is as wide as the galaxies  
Just hold out your hand and close your eyes  
And come be with me_

_Lo and behold  
My love hasn't grown cold  
For you._

"My Love Hasn't Grown Cold" by Bethany Dillon


End file.
